Most victims die, others experience physical or psychic changes: aces have useful powers, deuces minor maybe entertaining abilities, jokers uglified, disabled, relegated to ghettos.

    Here for the first time are his short stories and other short form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press,; to the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas,all of it shot through with his inimitable brand of humour.With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.

    Virtually unknown and only published in pulp magazines before he died in poverty, he is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors in his genre. Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent most of his life. Among his most celebrated tales is "The Call of Cthulhu", canonical to the Cthulhu Mythos. Never able to support himself from earnings as author and editor, Lovecraft saw commercial success increasingly elude him in this latter period, partly because he lacked the confidence and drive to promote himself. He subsisted in progressively straitened circumstances in his last years; an inheritance was completely spent by the time he died at the age of 46.

    Weber is joined in Honor's universe by two leading science fiction writers, David Drake and S.M. Stirling.

    With eight short stories and novellas--including three original to this collection--Galactic North imparts the centuries-spanning events that have produced the dark and turbulent world of Revelation Space.

    This trilogy is standalone from the sequels. Dark Space I HUMANITY IS DEFEATED Ten years ago the Sythians invaded the galaxy with one goal: to wipe out the human race. THEY ARE HIDING Now the survivors are hiding in the last human sector of the galaxy: Dark Space--once a place of exile for criminals, now the last refuge of mankind. THEY ARE ISOLATED The once galaxy-spanning Imperium of Star Systems is left guarding the gate which is the only way in or out of Dark Space--but not everyone is satisfied with their governance. AND THEY ARE KILLING EACH OTHER Freelancer and ex-convict Ethan Ortane is on the run. He owes crime lord Alec Brondi 10,000 sols, and his ship is badly damaged. When Brondi catches up with him, he makes an offer Ethan can't refuse. Ethan must infiltrate and sabotage the Valiant, the Imperial Star Systems Fleet carrier which stands guarding the entrance of Dark Space, and then his debt will be cleared. While Ethan is still undecided about what he will do, he realizes that the Imperium has been lying and putting all of Dark Space at risk. Now Brondi's plan is starting to look like a necessary evil, but before Ethan can act on it, he discovers that the real plan was much more sinister than what he was told, and he will be lucky to escape the Valiant alive. . . . Dark Space II: The Invisible War THEIR SHIP IS DAMAGED Ethan Ortane has just met his long lost son, Atton, but the circumstances could have been better. After a devastating bio-attack and the ensuing battle, they've fled Dark Space aboard the Defiant to get away from the crime lord, Alec Brondi, who has just stolen the most powerful vessel left in the Imperial Star Systems' Fleet--the Valiant, a five-kilometer-long gladiator-class carrier. THEY ARE LOW ON FUEL They need reinforcements to face Brondi, but beyond Dark Space the comm relays are all down, meaning that they must cross Sythian Space to contact the rest of the fleet. Making matters worse, they are low on fuel. They'll have to travel on the space lanes to save fuel, but the lanes are controlled by Sythians, and they are fraught with entire fleets of cloaked alien ships. Dark Space III: Origin THE DEFIANT IS STRANDED Ethan and his son, Atton, have been arrested for high treason and conspiracy, crimes which will surely mean the death sentence, but it's beginning to look like theirs aren't the only lives in jeopardy--the Defiant is stranded in Sythian Space, and the vessel which Commander Caldin sent to get help has used all its fuel to get to Obsidian Station, only to find out that the station has been destroyed. Now the Defiant's last hope for a rescue is gone, and everyone on board is about to die a cold, dark death. HUMANITY IS STILL FIGHTING ITSELF Meanwhile, the notorious crime lord, Alec Brondi, is plotting to capture the remnants of Admiral Hoff's fleet, just as he captured the Valiant, but Hoff's men are on to him, and Brondi is about to get a lot more than he bargained for, forcing him to flee to the one place he knows will be safe--Dark Space. AND A NEW INVASION IS ABOUT TO BEGIN But Dark Space is only safe because the alien invaders don't know exactly where it is, and now they have a plan to find it which will threaten not only Dark Space, but the entire human race.

    D. Robb Celebrity in Death Her career in homicide has taken her into the darkest depths of New York City’s underground—and sometimes Lieutenant Eve Dallas feels more comfortable in those kinds of places than in the high-rise, high-society world of her billionaire husband, Roarke.But while she’s no party girl, she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating the debut of The Icove Agenda. This time it’s Eve, not Roarke, who’s a guest of honor, since the film is based on one of her famous cases. Her partner, Peabody, is practically giddy over rubbing shoulders with Hollywood royalty. Eve, on the other hand, is more likely to roll her eyes than have stars in them. But she has to admit it’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin.Not as unsettling, though, as seeing K. T. Harris, the actress who plays Peabody—drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. Talented but rude, and widely disliked, K.T. had made an embarrassing scene during dinner. She clearly liked being the center of attention. Now she’s at the center of a crime scene—and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster, to step into the role she was born to play: cop. Delusion in Death It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks, complained about the boss, maybe hooked up with someone for the night. Until something went terribly wrong.At first it was just a friction in the air. The noise intensified. The crowd seemed oppressive. Some sharp words were exchanged, some pushing and shoving. Then the madness descended. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead.Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics makes its report, the mass delusions make more sense: it appears the bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive people into temporary insanity—if not kill them outright. But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. Eve’s husband, Roarke, happens to own the bar, yet he’s convinced the attack wasn’t directed at him. It’s bigger than that.And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Because it’s airborne....

    Robots have descended on us from outer space, escaped from top-secret laboratories, and even traveled back in time to destroy us.Today, scientists are working hard to bring these artificial creations to life. In Japan, fuzzy little real robots are delivering much appreciated hug therapy to the elderly. Children are frolicking with smiling robot toys.It all seems so innocuous. And yet how could so many Hollywood scripts be wrong?So take no chances. Arm yourself with expert knowledge. For the sake of humanity, listen to serious advice from real robotics experts. How else will you survive the inevitable future in which robots rebel against their human masters?

    He was honored by fans with three Hugo Awards and by colleagues with one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. This is one of his stories.

    Through forty years of New York Times bestselling Shannara novels, Terry Brooks always had an ending in mind: a series that would bring it all to a grand conclusion. Now that time is here. The Four Lands has been at peace for generations, but now a mysterious army of invaders is cutting a bloody swath across a remote region of the land. No one knows who they are, where they come from, or what they are after—and most seem content to ignore these disturbing events. The only people who sense a greater, growing threat and wish to uncover the truth are society’s outcasts: an exiled High Druid, a conflicted warrior, a teenage girl struggling to master a prodigious magic . . . and a scrappy young orphan, improbably named Shea Ohmsford.

    • (1971)• Some Notes Concerning a Green Box • (1971)• Why Johnny Can't Speed • (1971)• The Emoman • [Humanx Commonwealth • 4] • (1972)• Space Opera • (1973)• The Empire of T'ang Lang • (1973)• A Miracle of Small Fishes • (1974)• Dream Done Green • (1974)• He • (1976)• Polonaise • (1976)• Wolfstroker • (1977)• Ye Who Would Sing • (1976)

    The humble, pixelated games of the ‘70s and ‘80s have evolved into the vivid, realistic, and immersive form of entertainment that now rivals all other forms of media for dominance in the consumer marketplace. For many, video games have become the cultural icons around which pop culture revolves.PRESS START TO PLAY is an anthology of stories inspired by video games: stories that attempt to recreate the feel of a video game in prose form; stories that play with the concepts common (or exclusive) to video games; and stories about the creation of video games and/or about the video games—or the gamers—themselves.These stories will appeal to anyone who has interacted with games, from hardcore teenaged fanatics, to men and women who game after their children have gone to bed, to your well-meaning aunt who won’t stop inviting you to join her farm-based Facebook games.At the helm of this project are Daniel H. Wilson—bestselling novelist and expert in artificial intelligence—and John Joseph Adams—bestselling, Hugo Award-nominated editor of more than a dozen science fiction/fantasy anthologies and series editor of Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy (volume one forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin in 2015). Together, they have drawn on their wide-ranging contacts to assemble an incredibly talented group of authors who are eager to attack the topic of video games from startling and fascinating angles.Under the direction of an A.I. specialist and a veteran editor, the anthology will expose readers to a strategically chosen mix of stories that explore novel video game concepts in prose narratives, such as save points, kill screens, gold-farming, respawning, first-person shooters, unlocking achievements, and getting “pwned.” Likewise, each of our authors is an accomplished specialist in areas such as science fiction, fantasy, and techno-thrillers, and many have experience writing for video games professionally.Combining unique viewpoints and exacting realism, this anthology promises to thrill generations of readers, from those who grew up with Atari 2600s to the console and PC gamers of today.

    Fighting alongside the Raven Guard Legion, Marcus Valerius of the Therion Cohort has long scorned those who seek to deify the Emperor, but a flash of inspiration leads him to question whether or not there are greater forces at work in the universe...

    Contents: "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe", "L. T.'s Theory of Pets", "Luckey Quarter", "Autopsy Room Four", "Blind Willie", and "The Man in the Black Suit".

    McAuley88 • Glory • (2007) • novelette by Greg Egan112 • Maelstrom • (2007) • novelette by Kage Baker143 • Blessed by an Angel • (2007) • shortstory by Peter F. Hamilton158 • Who's Afraid of Wolf 359? • shortstory by Ken MacLeod170 • The Valley of the Gardens • (2007) • novelette by Tony Daniel202 • Dividing the Sustain • (2007) • novelette by James Patrick Kelly234 • Minla's Flowers • [Merlin [4] • 2] • (2007) • novella by Alastair Reynolds291 • Splinters of Glass • (2007) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum316 • Remembrance • (2007) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter334 • The Emperor and the Maula • (2007) • novelette by Robert Silverberg379 • The Worm Turns • (2007) • shortstory by Gregory Benford401 • Send Them Flowers • (2007) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams436 • Art of War • shortstory by Nancy Kress454 • Muse of Fire • (2007) • novella by Dan Simmons